Dealers Do Good
AIADA continues to recognize dealers who are making a difference in their communities in 2021 through our Dealers Do Good campaign. If you’re a dealer doing good, or you know about one, let us know here. Or, tag us on Twitter or Facebook with the #DealersDoGood hashtag.
Texas-based West Houston Subaru and West Houston Volkswagen has teamed up with their neighbor, Citizens for Animal Protection (CAP), to support their mission of finding homes for Houston's stray and unwanted animal population. Every year they help to adopt about 1000 animals by sponsoring the adoptions. They also sponsor CAP as their home town charity through Subaru's Share the Love Campaign. Last year alone West Houston contributed $65,329.36! So far they have made 11948 pet adoptions possible. Click here for a video.
Kevin Reilly, owner and president of Alexandria Hyundai in Virginia, has long been active in Hyundai Hope on Wheels, a charity funded by Hyundai and its dealers that directs a portion of every sale to pediatric cancer research. Inspired by “hand-on” car contests typically held at auto shows, he convinced the Washington-area Hyundai dealers to change up the contest to feature local children’s hospital staffers as the contestants, and make a substantial contribution to pediatric cancer research. The staffers who maintain contact with the car receive keys and the lucky staffer whose key starts the car wins it. The winner’s institution gets 60 percent of a $100,000 pot to fund its research, with the runner-up getting the rest. For more on Kevin’s creative way to give back, click here.
20 Brand-New Electric Vehicles Worth Waiting For
Automakers, both established and recently incorporated, are ramping up development and production of zero-emissions electric cars, SUVs, and even pickup trucks, with a bevy of new models arriving by the end of 2021. Forbes reports that with the cost of batteries falling, operating ranges on a charge rising, and public charging stations becoming more prevalent, battery powered rides are indeed becoming practical modes of transport for a wider range of consumers. To help customers understand which of these vehicles are worth waiting for, Forbes has compiled a slideshow of the 20 most significant electrified rides expected to reach dealers’ showrooms in the months ahead. Click here for the full list (source: Forbes).
Toyota and Lexus Introduce Post-Collision Service
Toyota and Lexus this week announced the introduction of the Post-Collision Guidance Feature to the brands’ respective smartphone apps. The feature seeks to guide people through the difficult process of reacting to an accident. Car Scoops reports that the service is available to customers who subscribe to the Safety Connect suite of features available through Toyota and Lexus’s apps. Post-Collision Guidance will help drivers collect important accident documentation, connect them to auto insurers for optional claim submission, provide search capabilities to find a repair shop, and more after it has confirmed that the driver is okay, of course. Click here for video. “Safety for our customers is paramount. The minutes following an accident can be critical — drivers are often confused and uncertain about what to do,” says Steve Basra, Toyota Motor North America, Connected Technologies group vice president. “By incorporating Collision Assistance into our owner app, we can offer help when it is needed.” Read more here (source: Car Scoops).
Used Car Prices are Finally Cooling Off, But it Still Won't Be Easy to Buy One
The used vehicle market is finally showing signs of leveling off after three consecutive months of record price increases, data from the US government's latest monthly inflation report show. Business Insider reports that the average price for used cars and trucks ticked up just 0.2 percent in July, barely moving after June's 10.5 percent spike was responsible for a third of the overall rise in inflation. But even though the picture didn't get worse for car shoppers, it didn't get any better either — and it might not improve for a while yet. Depending on who you ask, average used vehicle prices are still up nearly 42 percent over last year (according to the Feds), or 23.6 percent (according to the Manheim Index), which means that used Ford Escape SUV that might have gone for $17,000 will run now you between $21,000 and $25,000. That leaves a lot of room before prices return to familiar territory, and there are a few reasons that could take some time. For the full story, click here (source: Business Insider).
EV Registrations More than Double in First Half, Account for 2.5 Percent of U.S. Market
Electric vehicle registrations in the U.S. more than doubled in the first half of 2021 from a year earlier to account for 2.5 percent of total new-vehicle registrations. Automotive News reports that 214,111 new EVs were registered nationwide through June, up from 98,351 in the first half of 2020. EVs represented about 1.5 percent of all new-vehicle registrations in the U.S. at the same time last year. While the sharp rise in registration data reflects growing demand for EVs and the entry of several new models into the segment, the data also shows how far the U.S. has to go to meet its newly announced EV sales targets. Last week, President Joe Biden set a goal of having half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. be emissions-free by 2030. For more on EV sales, click here (source: Automotive News).
Around the Web
Car Quiz: Can You Identify These NASCAR Tracks? [FOX News]
What's The Coolest Car Tech That Never Went Mainstream? [Jalopnik]
2021 Kia Rio Hatchback First Test: Scrappy and Sensible [Motortrend]
